Garmin CIRQA – All the Bugs So Far

CIRQA was launched less than two weeks ago and appears to have exceeded Garmin’s expectations by selling out the initial production run. As a result, many of us have one on our wrists, so the community has already done a good amount of testing. There are quite a few bugs listed below, but overall this isn’t too bad for a new Garmin launch, especially if they fix them rapidly.

Here’s a working list of CIRQA bugs reported so far, grouped by area. Status shows whether a bug is widely reported or single-source. Feel free to post yours in the comments or suggest fixes if appropriate.

Sync and data tracking

• Optical sensor stops after charging. The sensor does not resume after a charge until the band is powered off in the Garmin Connect app and back on via the button, with no warning shown even though the band reports as connected and synced. Source: r/Garmin (three users). This is widely reported.
• No data is recorded beyond sleep or manual activities despite correct primary-device setup. Steps, heart rate, Body Battery and Training Readiness stop updating even with CIRQA correctly set as primary wearable and primary training device. One user’s Garmin support case ran a full week without resolution, while another user with the same setup reported no issues over a 19-hour wear test. Sources: Garmin Forums (step counter thread) and r/Cirqa. This is widely reported, but how bad it gets seems to vary between units.
• CIRQA step count overrides an explicitly set primary watch. Garmin Connect displays CIRQA’s step count rather than a Fenix 8‘s, even though the Fenix is confirmed in Connect’s own settings as both primary wearable and primary training device. Source: r/Cirqa. This is a single-source report.

Alarms and vibration

• Smart alarm resets its own repeat schedule. An alarm set for weekdays reportedly fires on a day it wasn’t scheduled for, then reverts from “weekdays” to a one-off setting after triggering. Source: Garmin Forums, multiple posters. This is widely reported.
• Smart alarm fires at the end of the window rather than during detected light sleep. Two users report the alarm consistently waiting until the final minute of a set range, in one case despite the band’s own data showing light sleep well before that point. Source: r/Cirqa, two independent posts.
• Unexplained vibration is traced to alarm snooze behaviour. A short button press only snoozes the smart alarm rather than dismissing it, so it keeps vibrating; one user mistook this for a random fault until told a long press is needed to turn it off. Source: r/Cirqa. This is a single-source report, but it’s a plausible explanation for the wider pattern of vibration complaints on Garmin Forums.

Body Battery, Training Readiness and HRV

• Body Battery fails to reflect exertion when CIRQA isn’t worn during the activity. A user who left CIRQA off the wrist during a five-hour ride saw no Body Battery decrease afterward, unlike a previous Garmin watch used the same way. Source: Garmin Forums. This is a single-source report.
• Body Battery climbs unusually during ordinary sedentary activity. One user reported Body Battery increasing while working at a desk, a pattern they said none of their Garmin watches had shown; a second user on the same thread reported normal behaviour. Source: r/Garmin. This is a single-source report, and it’s contradicted by another user on the same thread.
• Training Readiness is delayed roughly an hour after an activity syncs. Reported when using an Edge 1050 or Epix alongside an HRM 600 strap. Source: r/Garmin. This is a single-source report.
• HRV Status and Training Readiness reset when switching between CIRQA and a watch. Two users on different watches (Forerunner 970, Fenix 7X Pro) report losing HRV Status, in one case along with Training Readiness, after switching to CIRQA. One reply puts this down to CIRQA’s older Elevate Gen 4 sensor differing from the watch’s Gen 5. Sources: r/Cirqa and a second r/Cirqa post. This has been reported twice.

Workout data

• Average heart rate and calories change after saving a workout. One user’s auto-detected workout showed an average heart rate of 127bpm before saving and 107bpm after, which would change every recovery metric that depends on it. Source: r/Cirqa. This is a single-source report.
• Daily max heart rate and workout max heart rate don’t align. Reported by the same user in the same post as above. Source: r/Cirqa. This is a single-source report.

Fixed since launch (for reference)

• Live heart rate is hidden behind a Connect+ subscription during workouts. Garmin Connect showed only average heart rate rather than a live reading unless the user paid for Connect+. Garmin told DC Rainmaker it would update the app within days to make live heart rate free, and did so. Source: DC Rainmaker. This was widely reported and has since been fixed.
• Workouts failed to sync to Strava and other third-party platforms at launch. This was caused by a setting on Garmin’s side that hadn’t been turned on, and it was fixed within a day or two of launch. Source: DC Rainmaker hands-on.
• Auto-activity detection was slow or absent, and Training Readiness was volatile within a single session, at launch. Source: DC Rainmaker hands-on.

Not a bug, but catching users out

• Pulse Ox is off by default. New users checking their first night’s sleep data find no SpO2 reading until they manually turn on Pulse Ox for sleep or all-day tracking in device settings. One user also needed a device reset before it started working. Source: r/Cirqa, multiple posters.

Unverified or single-report, low confidence

• Only strength training could be logged as an activity type. This was reported alongside app headings showing as underscores instead of proper text, which suggests some app text hasn’t been translated properly for this build. Source: r/GarminWatches, zero replies, no corroboration.

Last Updated on 5 August 2026 by the5krunner

the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID